Newsletter

Shrimp getting thicker and bigger

CONTRIBUTED Tommy Scott with a nice tarpon caught last week off Crescent Beach with Captain Tommy Derringer. Scott and his brother, James, tag-teamed the fish and released it after a 30-minute fight.

Adam Delaney guides out of Georgetown Marina on Lake George. This week he saw something he’d never seen.

He was fishing the Croaker Hole, looking for stripers. His West Virginia customer hooked something big. Turned out to be a 30-inch snook. That would be about a 10-pounder.

He’s getting the picture to me, and we’ll show her to you next week. But think about it — that fish had to travel all the way to Mayport (where it shouldn’t be), then come back south on a freshwater river another 65 miles. Snook season is closed, but that would have been a tough one to release for anyone but a saint ...

Otherwise, the big news is the shrimp. The larger shrimp seem to be around downtown Jacksonville. But none of these are big yet. Delaney said that there are plenty of small shrimp down around Welaka. These are deep-water shrimp. He and his wife caught half a 5-gallon bucket in about an hour, tossing 7-foot nets.

The mullet wall on the Shands Bridge has been busy for the cane-polers. There was a good report of croakers and some nice yellowmouth trout caught south of the Shads Bridge on the Clay County side of the river, working along the drop-off there.

There’s an odd bite of warmouth on the north end of Lake Lochloosa. The bluegill and shellcracker are still bedding on the sandbars in Lake George. On the remainder of the river, the panfish bite is fair, and the fish are medium-sized at best.

The Intracoastal Waterway

Rockin’ Randy at Avid Angler reported weighing a 10.1-pound flounder this week. But most of the fish are still on the small side — a lot of cookie-cutter 15-inchers.

Reds continue to do what reds do in the summer, which is move around a lot — usually where I’m not.

Some nice trout were caught, mainly at dusk or dark.

The mangrove snapper bite is picking up every week. You’ll have to cull through some small fish, but some 12-inch fish are around (the minimum length is 10 inches.)

Not much else going on but the jacks and ladyfish.

The Atlantic

There was one report of some trolling on the ledge. The crew caught a 35-pound wahoo and lost a dolphin about that size at the boat. Otherwise it was barracuda and a few kingfish.

The triggerfish, black sea bass and vermillion snapper bite remain good out on the 21-fathom bottom. There are a few kings out there too. But the word was that earlier in the week, the current was running so hard, most boats had to come back into shallower water, just to hit bottom.

Most activity was on the inshore reefs and wrecks this week. The kingfish bite was off and on. Captain Kevin Faver had nine fish one day, including one more than 40 pounds. Captain Guy Spear had a couple bad days, then caught four of seven hooked, weighing 30, 21, 17 and 10 pounds.

A few cobia were caught, and a couple of wayward sailfish were hooked up.

Oldest City Bait & Tackle has moved across A1A, to the shopping center. The new place is between the Dollar General and the laundromat. Dave and Candace say to stop on by.

Weather

Look for southerly winds at 10 knots all weekend with 2-3 foot seas. Afternoon thunderstorms are always something to be ready for.

Calendar

The Ancient City Game Fish Association holds its monthly meeting Aug. 19 at B&B Trailers’ new digs at 2875 U.S. 1 South. Social hour begins at 6 p.m. New members are always welcome to come by the meetings and check things out.